Epilogue Two ~ Mercury
“Ami? You there?” I heard someone say. I looked up
from the book I was entranced by. I saw my mother
laughing slightly. I blushed and set the book on my crystal
nightstand.
“What was that, Mother?” I asked innocently. She
smiled sweetly.
“I just asked if you were ready for the Ball. We have
to leave soon if we want to make it there on time.” She
answered, gazing in the mirror on my pale blue wall. She
fixed her short raven hair back in place and sighed. She
stared into it, lost in thought. My heart went out to her.
Ever since Father died, she hasn’t had much time for me, I
thought. Although she tries, it’s hard on her, I know, I told
myself.
“Yes. I was just catching up on my reading.” I said,
snapping her out of her trance. She glanced at me and
laughed.
“Darling, you aren’t wearing your glasses, are you?”
She asked.
“I want to be able to see my friends.” I answered.
“They’re for reading. You don’t need them.” She said,
plucking them off my nose. “Besides, you look a lot more
mature without them. You’ll impress more young men this
way.” She said, picking a mirror up off my vanity. I
frowned at my reflection and sighed. I never considered
myself pretty. Not even average. I kept my hair short,
hardly ever wore make-up, and kept the fancy clothes at a
minimum. I felt there was no need for vanity in my choice
of profession. I was destined to become a famous
physician, just like my mother. Although I was also to be
the Queen of Mercury, I planned on spending my time with
my career. I never felt the need to dress up. But tonight, I
hated my looks. I think of Serena and Raye, and I envy
them so much. They loved the beautiful clothes, the
cosmetics, the flirting. But I was the bookworm. I’m smart.
I know that, and I’m proud of it. But, unlike Serena, I had
never been on a date. She was being introduced to her
fiancee tonight, and I knew she was disappointed. She liked
the flitting from boy to boy. I, however, never had a date,
and would soon be introduced to my own fiancee. I hated
the fact that I would never have a social life. I sighed and
put the mirror down. I felt my eyes cloud up, and I quickly
spoke, hiding my sadness.
“Let’s go, before we’re late.” I said, grabbing my
mother by the arm. She laughed and followed my lead. We
were out the palace doors in minutes.
As we arrived at the Moon Palace, my sadness melted
away, as I quickly got into the mood that had already
developed. People of status had gathered on the palatial
grounds, and were laughing and talking animatedly.
Champagne flew freely, and I could feel my cares flying out
of me as I searched the compound for my friends. I caught a
quick glimpse of Serena, standing at the doorway with her
Mother, Queen Serenity. Before I had a chance to say
anything, I was whisked away by the crowd, and moved
towards the Ballroom. As the crowd dispersed, I walked
more freely about the room, my eyes darting from side to
side. I whirled around, running right into another young
girl.
“Ami!” Lita said, grinning down at me. Her green
satin gown shimmered in the light of the many glowing
chandeliers. Again, the twinges of jealousy pricked my
heart as I noticed how stunning she looked. Her brown hair
was swept up in it’s usual ponytail, but was held in a jade
hair pin. Her complexion was clear and rosy, and her smile
lit up her happy face. I sighed again, hoping I could hide
my feelings of unhappiness.
“Hello Lita.” I said cheerfully. “How long have you
been here?” I asked quickly.
“Only 30 minutes.” She answered, looking up. “Have
you seen Serena?” She asked, her eyes lighting up.
“No, sorry.” I said.
“Rats. I want to see this “mystery man” she has.” She
said excitedly. I nodded enthusiastically.
“I know. I’ve never seen him before. My mother says
he’s quite attractive.” I said matter-of-factly. Lita laughed.
“If he is, she’ll have no trouble warming up to this
marriage thing!” She said, giggling. I laughed too, picturing
seeing Serena with him at the alter. Serena was always a
sucker for a cute guy.
“Where are the others?” I asked as we walked to the
edges of the room.
“I saw Raye earlier, but her mother whisked her off
before we had a chance to talk. Mina was talking with a
group of boys last time I saw her.” She said, smiling
knowingly. Mina and Serena were a matched pair. They
were giddy, immature and boy crazy. And they got along
great, consequently. “OH! There’s Raye!” She burst out,
interrupting my thoughts. “RAYE!” She belted, standing on
her toes, waving empathetically. Raye looked over, and
instantly ran over.
“Gee, Lita, could you be a little more loud?” Raye
asked, shushing her with her hand. Lita smirked.
“How did you expect me to get your attention? Smoke
signals?” Lita said sarcastically. Raye grinned.
“You seen Serena?” She asked. Me and Lita giggled.
“Nope. Probably off meeting her prince charming.”
Lita snickered. I started to laugh, but was interrupted by a
figure bumping me. I turned around, half annoyed, half
sorry, and ran smack into Mina.
“Hi!” She said cheerily. Her blue eyes sparkled,
seeming a little too happy. Possibly even a little vacant, like
no one was home. I started to snicker at the ridiculous
thought. She didn’t notice. “Seen Serena yet?” She asked. I
shook my head.
“Nope, sorry Mina.” I answered. I looked around once
more, for the one missing friend. I caught a glimpse of her
hair, as always, wrapped into two balls on top of her head.
She was dancing with a tall man, with broad shoulders and
crisp black tuxedo. My eyes popped out, and I gasped.
“Everyone! There she is!” I yelled, gesturing to them. They
all turned to me in unison. I pointed towards the couple still
dancing gracefully in the center of the room. Raye gasped,
and Lita giggled.
“I was right! She’s already in love, I can tell!” She
said, covering her fits of laughter with her hand. Mina
nodded, gesturing to the older man walking towards the
two. He tapped the man on the back, and whispered in his
ear. He said something to Serena and kissed her cheek, then
walked off. Serena stood on the dance floor, her cheeks red,
lost in a secret world. She snapped out of it, and walked
towards the entryway.
“Follow her!” Mina barked, each of us walking briskly
after our friend. Loosing site of her, we instinctly entered
the short hallway off the side of the entryway. Lita pointed
to a small room to the left, with the curtain pulled over the
doorway. As we approached it, Lita threw the curtain away
from the entrance, and we all stood in the doorway.
Serena’s head jerked upwards, and her eyes grew wide. She
sighed realizing it was only us, and smiled.
“Serena! Is that him?” Lita asked anxiously.
“Yes...” She said, trying to sound bored.
“Oh, you lucky girl you! He is so gorgeous! Wow, you
get all the good ones!” Mina screeched, sitting down beside
her. Mina looked excitedly at her, her eyes shining. We all
waited for Serena to talk, as she calmly smoothed her dress.
Mina finally exploded.
“How old is he? Is he nice? Does he have a brother?”
Mina burst out. She leaned closer to Serena with each
question. Lita and Raye snickered at Mina’s interrogation. I
rolled my eyes. Mina would think of asking that, of course.
“He’s 20, I think, yes he is, and I don’t know. Maybe.”
She shrugged. I smiled, knowing Serena was trying very
hard to be mature. She wanted us to explode, before she
ever did. Lita blinked, anxiously awaiting a different
reaction from her. The reaction we all knew she was hiding.
“I’M IN LOVE!” She shrieked. Lita laughed, and I
smiled. Now that was the Serena we all knew. “He is sooo
handsome...”She swooned, leaning back on the bench she
was sitting on. She groped awkwardly at anything to keep
herself upright, but she fell rather ungracefully to the
marble floor, her feet the only thing visible from behind the
bench. I laughed to myself, hoping nobody noticed the
smile on my face. She pulled herself back up, and once
again began her story.
“I can’t wait till the wedding.” She said contentedly. A
small laugh escaped from Raye, and Serena shot her a
sharp look.
“You just met him, don’t you think that’s a little
premature?” She asked, smirking.
“No, we’re arranged. Whether he likes it or not, we’re
getting married.” She said, her nose pointing in the air. We
all burst out laughing at her answer. Realizing her response,
she blushed, quick to cover her error up. “Of course, he
does like it. I can tell.” She said quickly.
“I hope my husbands’ as wonderful as yours Serena.” I
said, smoothing the silk out on my sky blue dress.
“Who are you betrothed to Ami?” Lita asked.
“The eldest son from Pluto.” I answered, blushing.
“Oooh, my mother said they have handsome kids.”
Mina said, swooning. Raye rolled her eyes at Mina’s
response.
“You would know something like that, Mina.” She
said.
“My mother was good friends with their father.” Mina
said defensively. I smiled, quietly agreeing with Raye. Mina
always kept up with the latest gossip.
“Who’s your fiancee, Raye?” Lita asked.
“My mother had originally arranged me to someone
from Neptune, but she told me I didn’t have to.” She
answered laconically, shrugging for effect. I sighed. I knew
Raye was more of a hopeless romantic than she let on. “It’s
not like I’ve met him or anything, so maybe I will end up
marrying him.” She added. She said it with a tired voice,
but I could tell she was hoping he was the man of her
dreams. That just cinched my suspicions. I watched her as
her eyes followed someone outside the room.
“Who’s that with your man, Serena?” Raye asked,
smirking. I followed Raye’s gaze to the pretty woman
talking to Serena’s fiancee. Serena bolted up, her eyes
blazing.
“Who does that hussy think she is?” She screeched.
“I don’t know, but she seems to have Dariens
complete attention.” Lita noticed. Tears welled up in
Serena’s eyes, and she started in on her signature wail.
“She can’t have him! He’s mine!” She sobbed, sitting
on the floor. I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed with her
immature behavior. She may be my best friend, but she can
sometimes be a pain. Lita ran and covered her mouth with
her hand.
“SSH! People are starting to look over here!” She
whispered harshly. She sniffled and pulled herself off the
floor. She got up and headed towards the ballroom, her
gaze set on the two. As she approached, Dariens eyes lit up
at the sight of her. I noticed the look Serena gave the other
woman, as she left the two alone, and sighed. Serena can be
a little protective. Lita giggled as she watched the two talk.
“Can you make out what he’s saying?” Mina said,
squinting at the two figures. Lita shook her head. Raye
leaned a little closer to the doorway.
“We need to get closer!” Raye said.
“Gee, you’d almost think you cared about her Raye.”
Lita said sarcastically. Raye ignored her comment.
“Something about the time I think.” Mina said. Darien
glanced at the clock, and I could see Serena’s face fall. She
said something then looked down, her eyes watering. He
said something to her, and Serena blushed.
“OH! What are they saying!” Mina burst out. She said
something back to him, and he put his hand under her chin.
“HE’S GONNA KISS HER!” Lita screeched
excitedly. I stared, waiting for it to happen. We all watched
in silence, as the two stood in the center of the room, there
lips on each others. I could here Mina softly counting how
long the kiss lasted. I looked up as the clock struck 12, and
the two finally broke apart.
“Wow! 2 and a half minutes!” Mina said, after the two
stopped. Lita laughed, watching Serena as Darien left with
his father. Lita and Mina both jumped up to follow Serena
as she headed up the staircase. I grabbed the back of their
dresses, not about to let them bother her now.
“No you don’t. Let her be alone right now. She
doesn’t need us making fun of her right now.” I said,
holding them back. Mina shot me a look as Serena
disappeared at the top of the stairs, and Lita sighed.
“I better go, my mother is probably ready to go.” Raye
sighed. She picked up her dress, and headed out. Lita left
after her, followed by Mina and myself, chatting about the
events that night.
“I’m very happy for Serena. I know how nervous she
was about tonight.” I said to Mina.
“Yeah. Well, she got a good deal out of this
arrangement thing. Darien seems just about perfect.” Mina
said, sighing. I could tell she was a little upset, but about
what, I wasn’t sure. I studied her face curiously, trying to
figure out what was bothering my friend. She started to
smile, and I could she waved. I glanced in the direction of
her gaze, and saw her mother waiting for her at the
entrance, along with Lita’s and my own.
“Have fun, sweety?” My mother asked, smiling at me.
“Of course. I’m very happy for Serena, I know she’ll
be very happy with him.” I answered.
“Well, soon this will all be for you.” She said. I
gulped. I knew I would be meeting my fiancee soon, but I
really wasn’t looking forward to it. I knew he would be
disappointed with me. I once again went into my own little
pit of self loathing. *Why can’t I be more like Mina?* I
asked myself, as I watched my friend leave. She was
watching a figure very intently as he approached her. She
smiled as the young man passed her, and batted her
eyelashes sweetly. The boy smiled back, and waved as he
passed her. I tilted my head as I considered what would
happen if I did that. The guy would probably run in the
other direction! I laughed in spite of myself. I sighed once
again, preparing for the trip home.
“I just hope it’s quick.” I said quietly. “I wish, just
once, I could have a guy fall all over me like that.” I said,
knowing it would never happen. “Just once....”
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